Concordia (Wis.) pulled off the biggest wins of the weekend, sweeping national powerhouse St. Norbert in a crucial NCHA weekend series. The Falcons topped the top-ranked Green Knights 4-2 Friday and then earned a stunning 3-0 victory Saturday to complete the sweep.
Nick Malvin recorded the shutout in goal on Saturday while Connor Hogg scored twice to help the Falcons improve to 11-7-1 overall and to 8-5-1 in the conference. St. Norbert fell to 14-4-1 overall and to 10-3-1 in the conference.
It was the first career shutout for Malvin. He racked up 33 saves. Hogg pushed his goal total to 10 on the season and helped Concordia finish off its second win in program history over St. Norbert. Friday marked the first time Concordia had ever beaten St. Norbert. The Falcons scored twice in the second period to take a 3-1 lead into the final period. The Green Knights suffered their first loss since Nov. 26. Dante Hahn dished out his 13th assist of the year in the victory. He also scored a goal. Hogg scored a goal in Friday’s win.
Marian and the Milwaukee School of Engineering split a weekend series in the NCHA. The Sabres lost 3-1 Friday but bounced back with a 4-3 win Saturday. Derek Thorogood gave Marian an early 1-0 lead but the Raiders responded with three unanswered goals. Casey Moneer, Brett Wagner and Jerad Tafoya all scored for the Raiders. Austin Campbell made 29 saves for MSOE. Marian ends the weekend at 11-9-1 overall and 9-7 in the NCHA. MSOE is now 8-7-4 overall and 5-6-3 in the league.
Thorogood scored his eighth goal of the year in Saturday’s game as the Sabres snapped their two-game losing streak and remained in second place in the South Division. Brodie Jamieson, Curtis Lewington and Nick Monfils all scored for the Sabres as well. The goal by Jamieson was his third of the year. Lewington punched in his sixth goal of the season and Monfils struck for his seventh goal of the season. Mike Baldwin won his 10th game of the year in goal, racking up 25 saves. Brett Wagner scored twice for the Raiders and Zach Simpson also scored MSOE, which saw its three-game win streak come to an end.
Below is a look at some of the other action for the weekend.
St. Thomas swept Saint John’s in their rivalry showdown over the weekend, winning 2-0 and 5-2. The two wins propel the Tommies back to the top of the conference standings. The shutout on Friday was the first of the season for the Tommies. Michael Dockry and Thomas Williams both scored St. Thomas while Ben Myers won his eighth game of the season, recording 24 saves. On Saturday, the Tommies scored three power-play goals and a short-handed goal to complete the sweep. Williams scored off the power play to tally his second goal of the weekend.
For the Johnnies, Sam Valerius scored his seventh goal of the season and Garrett Riebling came through with the Johnnies’ final goal of the night. Valerius had the assist on the play, pushing his career point total to 40.
The Tommies scored three goals in the third period to put the game out of reach on a night when the teams combined for 18 penalties. Myers racked up 27 saves Saturday, securing his ninth win of the year. Tyler Nelson suffered the loss despite 28 saves. The Johnnies gave up five goals for the fifth time this year. St. Thomas is now 10-5-4 overall and 8-1-1 in the league. Saint John’s is 10-8-3 overall and is 5-5-2 in the MIAC.
Augsburg and Saint Mary’s played to a 5-5 tie Saturday, but the Cardinals gained the conference point by winning the shootout 2-1. The Auggies trailed 5-3 early in the third period, but rallied behind goals by Trevor Stewart and Evan Brenk. Brenk scored the lone goal for the Auggies in the shootout. Nate Flynn, Chris Nuth and Evan Hesse also scored goals for the Auggies, while Rory Vesel tallied two assists. Five different Cardinals scored. Kellen Wasell accounted for one of the goals and also dished out an assist. Nick Albergo and Bob Kinne both scored in the shootout. Kinne also scored a goal in regulation.
Brenk played a key role in Friday’s 4-3 win over the Cardinals, scoring twice. He came through with the game-winning goal in the third period to lift Augsburg to the win. Brenk pushed his season total to eight goals, which ties him for sixth in the league in goals scored. Augsburg is now in second place in the conference standings. The Auggies are 13-3-3 overall and 7-1-2 in the MIAC.
Concordia (Minn.) won both games of its series against Gustavus Adolphus over the weekend, moving into a tie for fifth place in the standings. The Cobbers are 11-7-1 overall and 5-4-1 in the league. The Cobbers ended a four-game winless streak Friday with a 4-0 win and earned a 3-2 win in overtime Saturday. Concordia scored twice in a span of 30 seconds in the opening period off goals by Jeremy Johnson and Joe Burgmeier. Garrett Hendrickson scored the game-winner with just over a minute left in overtime. The goal by Hendrickson was his sixth of the season, and the second one that resulted in a game-winner. Sam Nelson earned his second win of the weekend in goal, stopping 30 shots Saturday. He turned away 40 shots in Friday’s win. He now has seven wins on the year.
Gustavus fell to 2-13 overall and to 1-8-1 in the MIAC. Jared Docken and Ross Kovacs scored the goals for the Gusties.
Johnson also scored for Concordia in Friday’s victory, while Mario Bianchi tallied a career-high three assists. The win assured the Cobbers of their seventh consecutive season with at least 10 wins. Coach Chris Howe has won 10 or more games in seven of his nine seasons as the coach of the Cobbers.
Wisconsin-Superior had mixed results over the weekend in the WIAC, defeating Wisconsin-Stout 4-2 before losing 7-1 to Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The Yellow Jackets took advantage of a hat trick Anton Svensson to knock off the Blue Devils. Wis.-Superior scored twice in the third period to secure their first WIAC of the season. The Yellow Jackets are 7-12-1 overall. Riley Colvard and Mathias Ahman both scored goals for the Blue Devils, who are 10-9-2 overall and 2-2 in the WIAC. Kyle Miller was stellar in goal for Wis.-Superior, stopping 36 shots. Tommy Ahlgren stopped 24 shots for the Blue Devils in a game where both teams were 0-for-3 on the power play.
In the game against the Blugolds Saturday, the Yellow Jackets were dominated by the Wis.-Eau Claire, thanks in large part to the play of Patrick Moore, who recorded a hat trick and also dished out an assist. Moore is the leading point scorer in the league. Adam Knochenmus came through with a big performance as well, tallying a goal while also dishing out four assists. Tanner Skaja scored the lone goal for the Yellow Jackets, who struggled to get anything past Wis.-Eau Claire goalie Jay Deo. Deo made his 23rd consecutive start and stopped 19 shots as he won for the 15th time this season. The Blugolds are 15-5-3 overall and have the best record in the WIAC at 4-2.
